Cost to Own
United States › Rankings › North Carolina Counties ranked 100 Data vintage ACS 2023 5-Year

Ranked from ACS 2023 5-Year

Highest Rents in North Carolina

Median gross rent by county, which includes rent plus the utilities the tenant pays. Comparing it against the monthly cost to own is the honest version of the rent-versus-buy question.

Where does yours land? Every county in America is somewhere on this scale, including the one you live in.

North Carolina ranked

#County Median rentMonthly to ownMedian home
1 Mecklenburg County $1,521$2,879$371,200
2 Wake County $1,508$3,237$422,800
3 Durham County $1,415$2,766$351,700
4 Union County $1,390$2,860$374,400
5 Orange County $1,387$3,364$428,500
6 New Hanover County $1,343$2,706$353,700
7 Dare County $1,307$3,189$425,400
8 Cabarrus County $1,303$2,506$318,600
9 Buncombe County $1,281$2,755$360,000
10 Brunswick County $1,267$2,427$314,700
11 Hyde County $1,237$1,066$119,600
12 Camden County $1,220$2,264$289,800
13 Onslow County $1,198$1,775$219,500
14 Iredell County $1,183$2,286$292,300
15 Moore County $1,181$2,431$315,300
16 Cumberland County $1,156$1,574$183,700
17 Pasquotank County $1,146$1,810$223,300
18 Currituck County $1,126$2,650$351,200
19 Henderson County $1,120$2,438$317,800
20 Guilford County $1,108$1,930$234,900
21 Craven County $1,100$1,684$206,200
22 Polk County $1,089$2,194$281,100
23 Gaston County $1,085$1,914$235,000
24 Harnett County $1,080$1,801$220,700
25 Pender County $1,072$2,122$267,100
26 Chatham County $1,066$3,044$397,800
27 Watauga County $1,066$2,434$321,500
28 Carteret County $1,062$2,324$304,200
29 Perquimans County $1,061$1,714$211,600
30 Haywood County $1,052$2,015$254,900
31 Hoke County $1,047$1,616$196,000
32 Forsyth County $1,046$1,872$227,800
33 Granville County $1,008$1,903$235,700
34 Alamance County $1,007$1,787$221,200
35 Johnston County $1,007$2,124$267,600
36 Rowan County $990$1,752$216,100
37 Franklin County $988$1,940$240,900
38 Lincoln County $977$2,187$279,500
39 Pitt County $971$1,629$194,300
40 Lee County $962$1,761$213,800
41 Gates County $940$1,399$163,900
42 Wayne County $932$1,386$162,700
43 Nash County $924$1,450$171,100
44 Wilson County $915$1,463$171,800
45 Pamlico County $909$1,698$209,800
46 Transylvania County $909$2,546$336,100
47 Catawba County $891$1,757$218,100
48 Davie County $889$1,890$235,300
49 Davidson County $863$1,635$200,100
50 Vance County $860$1,276$146,300
51 Beaufort County $859$1,512$181,200
52 Randolph County $857$1,446$171,600
53 Jackson County $855$1,959$253,900
54 Anson County $849$1,094$119,300
55 Greene County $845$1,049$114,000
56 Cleveland County $835$1,503$180,200
57 Stanly County $830$1,733$214,300
58 Washington County $829$1,021$107,000
59 Bertie County $824$911$95,800
60 Edgecombe County $818$1,092$116,800
61 Duplin County $815$1,103$123,200
62 Lenoir County $814$1,032$111,400
63 Sampson County $811$1,149$128,400
64 Yancey County $807$1,763$222,300
65 Hertford County $806$1,038$111,100
66 Burke County $805$1,435$170,500
67 Cherokee County $800$1,673$208,700
68 Person County $796$1,589$192,800
69 Avery County $791$1,826$233,200
70 Clay County $791$2,041$263,300
71 Macon County $791$1,800$229,000
72 Rockingham County $789$1,344$156,000
73 Robeson County $784$867$88,600
74 Halifax County $776$989$102,500
75 Columbus County $775$1,154$128,300
76 Ashe County $774$1,767$221,900
77 Warren County $771$1,125$124,700
78 Chowan County $766$1,674$204,400
79 Scotland County $766$1,023$109,900
80 Stokes County $766$1,539$186,800
81 Madison County $764$2,053$263,500
82 Alleghany County $755$1,622$199,000
83 Montgomery County $753$1,292$150,300
84 Bladen County $752$1,139$125,800
85 Northampton County $749$992$102,200
86 Rutherford County $748$1,491$180,800
87 Alexander County $745$1,563$190,000
88 Mitchell County $744$1,627$202,100
89 Richmond County $744$1,105$120,800
90 McDowell County $741$1,394$168,300
91 Surry County $741$1,395$166,400
92 Caldwell County $735$1,452$174,000
93 Yadkin County $734$1,475$176,400
94 Martin County $729$1,038$109,900
95 Jones County $725$1,100$122,600
96 Swain County $715$1,663$209,800
97 Wilkes County $715$1,360$161,400
98 Caswell County $699$1,295$151,200
99 Tyrrell County $612$1,229$138,400
100 Graham County $581$1,310$155,800

Every figure is modelled on the county's own median home with 20% down at 7.03%. Property tax and electricity are county and state specific; homeowners insurance uses the NAIC average premium for that state, which ranges from 0.16% of home value in Hawaii to 1.16% in Oklahoma. Maintenance and water are national estimates. Full methodology.

Nationwide

Highest Rents across all 3,133 US counties · Every county in North Carolina

Other rankings

All 31 rankings